Pope Leo XIV Meets Nobel Laureate Bob Dylan at the Vatican

Pope Leo XIV hosted American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan for a private audience at the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace on Wednesday, marking a meeting between two prominent figures from the United States Midwest.

The 85-year-old Nobel laureate, currently in Italy for his "Rough and Rowdy Ways" tour, wore a black hooded sweatshirt and gloves for the brief encounter with the pontiff.

During the meeting, the Pope presented the musician with a rosary, while Dylan gifted the Holy Father a copy of his autobiography, Chronicles: Volume One, according to Vatican News.

The meeting holds significance as both men have previously engaged with themes of peace and nuclear disarmament, with the Pope publicly citing Dylan’s work in his own writings.

Father Antonio Spadaro, a Vatican official who helped arrange the visit, described the experience as having a profound historical weight.

"It was hard not to feel the emotion of being part of an encounter that had a real sense of history about it," said Father Antonio Spadaro.

In July, Pope Leo quoted lyrics from Dylan’s 1963 anti-nuclear protest song, "Go Away You Bomb," in the preface to a book published by the Vatican Publishing House.

The song, which was never officially recorded, features the lines: "I hate you cause yer man-made and man-owned, an' man-handled."

This event marks the second time Dylan has met a pope, following his 1997 performance at the National Eucharistic Congress in Bologna before Pope John Paul II.

Accounts of the 1997 meeting differ regarding the musical performance; Vatican News reported Dylan played three songs, while the BBC stated he performed four.

Dylan is scheduled to perform on Thursday evening at the Palazzo dello Sport in Rome, continuing a tour that includes stops in Milan and Bologna.